Conservation of Resources

News about Conservation of Resources, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jul. 31, 2015

California officials say water use in state fell by more than 27 percent in June, beating 25 percent statewide cutback ordered by Gov Jerry Brown. MORE

Jul. 21, 2015

California water regulators fine Byron Bethany Irrigation District record $1.5 million for illegally diverting water during drought; officials within the district say they will request hearing to challenge the fine in court. MORE

Jul. 17, 2015

California warns West Side Irrigation District in Tracy to stop pumping water, threatening fines of up to $10,000 a day; farmers were told to stop irrigating fields as state struggles through its fourth year of drought. MORE

Jul. 14, 2015

Roughly 50,000 households on Navajo reservation in New Mexicot that stretches into Utah and Arizona are without adequate or safe water, and multi-year drought is worsening an already fragile situation. MORE

Jul. 11, 2015

Judge Shelleyanne Chang of Sacramento Superior Court rules that California cannot fine farmers who fail to respond to water curtailment notices but that it can investigate them for illegally diverting water from rivers and streams, act that can carry hefty fines. MORE

Jul. 8, 2015

Restaurant chefs and home cooks in California are adjusting to water shortages imposed by state's drought by adjusting recipes and cooking methods to use less water; recipe for pressure cooker beef pho given. MORE

Jul. 6, 2015

Experts say Bureau of Reclamation, federal agency that operates vast network of dams, reservoirs and aqueducts across Western United States, must completely rebuild infrastructure to conserve and distribute water on increasingly warming planet; system, built in 1902 under Pres Theodore Roosevelt, worked well for most of 20th century but is not equipped to handle modern strains (Series: The Parched West). MORE

Jun. 27, 2015

California regulators order San Francisco to stop taking some river water, which it routinely stores in Hetch Hetchy reservoir, during drought. MORE

Jun. 26, 2015

Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, 720,000-acre system of islands and canals that is center of California's water system, is main battle zone in fourth year of severe drought; it faces demands from farmers and environmental groups, as debate grows stronger on apportioning limited water supply (Series: The Parched West). MORE

Jun. 23, 2015

California officials say majority of farmers and others holding some of state's strongest claims to water have missed deadline to confirm they stopped pumping from rivers and streams during drought; those ignoring orders face punishment of $1,000 a day and $2,500 per acre-foot. MORE

Jun. 22, 2015

White House Memo; Pres Obama faces criticism for weekend golf trip to Rancho Mirage, Calif, while state suffers extreme drought; area, which is home to 122 golf courses, uses over twice as much water as state average and has been ordered to cut usage by 36 percent. MORE

Jun. 16, 2015

Colorado remains one of last places in United States where collecting rainwater remains largely illegal due to complicated system of water rights rules; system strikes many as illogical in era of severe drought, but difficulty in repealing rules speaks to power of entrenched system based on seniority and century-old claims to stream flows. MORE

Jun. 15, 2015

Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of California's Water Resources Control Board, has become center of public attention since Gov Jerry Brown ordered sharp reduction in water use statewide; maintains upbeat attitude and has managed to keep peace between opposing interests during severe drought. MORE

Jun. 14, 2015

Op-Ed article by Paul Greenberg offers up loose set of rules for United States consumers regarding what kind of seafood they should eat; notes rules will help keep seafood consumption sustainable. MORE

Jun. 13, 2015

California restricts water usage for over 100 farmers and agricultural agencies possessing water rights dating as far back as 1903; state expects to impose further cuts as drought continues. MORE

May. 30, 2015

Major effort in Israel to desalinate Mediterranean Sea water and recycle wastewater has provided country with enough water for all its needs, even during times of drought; endeavor follows severe seven-year drought that began in 2005. MORE

May. 17, 2015

Gray Matter column by Erez Yoeli, Syon Bhanot, Gordon Kraft-Todd and David Rand contends higher prices will not convince Californians to reduce their water consumption, but instead suggests publicly visible programs that allow them to be good neighbors and citizens; recommends state-run website allowing homeowners to publicly pledge to reduce water use, and receive lawn signs publicly proclaiming their good citizenship. MORE

May. 7, 2015

Santa Fe, NM, facing drought, has adopted tiered water pricing system under which heaviest water users pay much more for water; practice effectively subsidizes system, while modest users face only modest price increase; system has brought about desired reduction in water usage, while economists praise it as balance between utility and fairness; Fresno, Calif, which has resisted such regulations but has increased rates, still maintains relatively high water usage. MORE

Apr. 30, 2015

New York City officials weigh City Council's bid to limit light usage in commercial buildings at night, shift that could affect some 40,000 structures and alter image of night skyline; proposal comes amid far-reaching push to reduce city's environmental footprint. MORE

Apr. 26, 2015

Florida's Republican legislators have come under fire for using $750 million allotted for conserving and restoring state's wilderness for other projects, despite voter support for conservation; Republicans have argued that state has enough protected land and money is best used for other efforts. MORE

Apr. 21, 2015

California appeals court rules that tiered water pricing plan being used in Orange County city of San Juan Capistrano violates State Constitution; ruling deals blow to state's regulators, who are entering final steps of carrying out executive order by Gov Jerry Brown imposing 25 percent statewide reduction in urban water use; pricing plan rejected by appeals court, known as conservation pricing, is one of main tools regulators hoped to use. MORE

Apr. 21, 2015

Solving California's water crisis appears to be beyond both abilities and interests of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs; tech world is largely interested in quick growth rather than slow development and in creating new markets rather than fixing existing ones; San Francisco company WaterSmart is one of few companies tackling problem. MORE

Apr. 9, 2015

California cities brace for mandatory water cutbacks due to severe drought and Gov Jerry Brown's mandate to cut statewide water use by 25 percent; communities are divided into tiers based on current per capita water use and must reduce usage by between 10 and 35 percent compared to 2013; failure to meet goals could eventually result in fines for cities. MORE

Apr. 3, 2015

Californians already engaged in water-conservation efforts are concerned that mandatory cuts imposed by Gov Jerry Brown will not be enough following four-year drought; prolonged water shortage has drained reservoirs, reduced snow levels and raise deep anxiety about scarcity. MORE

Apr. 1, 2015

Commodities giant Archer Daniels Midland joins growing group of major agricultural players who are promising to help conserve forests that are threatened by demand for products like palm oil and soy; will work with third-party environmental experts to assess the impact of its supply chains on forests and other areas that have high conservation value. MORE

Mar. 15, 2015

Jane Goodall, who drastically altered the way humanity understands itself through her research on chimpanzees, now spends 300 days a year on the road advocating for forest conservation and sustainable development. MORE

Mar. 11, 2015

Op-Ed article by Prof Douglas W Tallamy examines way that choices home gardeners make can affect surrounding ecosystem; notes that local fauna, such as caterpillars, have adapted over millennia to survive on local flora, and suggests that planting native species is far better conservation option than ornamental imported trees and plants. MORE

Dec. 18, 2014

Arizona, California and Nevada, in face of 14-year drought in Colorado River basin, sign agreement to add up to three million acre-feet of water to Lake Mead by 2020 from conservation and water management; lake, Colorado River reservoir, is water source for much of Southwest. MORE

Dec. 7, 2014

Op-Ed article by author Jacques Leslie describes how Los Angeles has become a leader in sustainable water management and has become particularly successful in conservation; laments much of America views Los Angeles as a water archvillain, when in fact the opposite is true. MORE

Nov. 6, 2014

Editorial points out that in many states, voters approved ballot measures that were directly at odds with positions of many Republican candidates who won; notes high-profile and often contentious ballot measures that voters approved involved issues regarding minimum wage, marijuana legalization, criminal justice reform, abortion rights, gun control and environmental protection. MORE

Oct. 15, 2014

Eduardo Porter Economic Scene column contends that price consumers pay for water rarely reflects true costs or scarcity; points out that farmers consume 80 percent of nation's water for virtually free; says higher prices are essential to induce conservation and investment in water-saving technology and to steer water to where it is valued most. MORE

Oct. 8, 2014

Many sports teams and stadium operators in drought-ridden parts of the country are searching for new ways to reduce water consumption by sports venues to help lower their costs and raise their public images. MORE

Aug. 10, 2014

Businesses on California's Catalina Island have spent more than $40 million updating quaint town of Avalon and reviving tourism, but island is quickly running out of water; with island's reservoir approaching record low, businesses and homes will be required to cut water use by 25 percent. MORE

Jul. 15, 2014

Authorities in Arizona are eager to get rid of the tamarisk trees, which are not native to the state and which they say suck too much water; they welcome the tamarisk beetle, the tree's natural predator, which were released in Colorado about a decade ago and have traveled now to Arizona; scientists say removing the trees will not produce more water, and warn that birds living in them will be harmed; plus, once the beetles are done eating tamarisk leaves, they are likely to feed on other trees. MORE

Jul. 5, 2014

Californians have cut their water consumption only 5 percent in five months compared with recent years since a drought emergency was declared; cities, faced with apparent indifference to stern warnings from state leaders and media alarms, have encouraged residents to tattle on their neighbors for wasting water--and residents have responded in droves. MORE

Jun. 7, 2014

Vietnam is first country in Southeast Asia to make ecosystem payments a national policy through a 2010 law that established an incentive program; farmers receive payments under program that is intended to support economic development in poor areas while protecting forest cover. MORE

Mar. 14, 2014

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit sides with environmentalists over California farmers and upholds federal guidelines that limit water diversions in order to protect delta smelt. MORE

Mar. 12, 2014

Mark Bittman Op-Ed column asserts that drought in California underscores need for policies that will result in a consistently reliable water supply for the state's farmers; maintains that either crop selection must be modified or water delivery and use must be more rational. MORE

Mar. 8, 2014

Lake of the Woods, Calif, may run out of municipal drinking water by the summer if rain does not return, making it one of 17 rural communities in state's southern region facing the same problem; regulations, community water-saving efforts and the drilling of new wells have all failed in the face of persistent drought. MORE

Feb. 13, 2014

Copen Journal; Honduras has become a central transfer point for drug shipments to the United States and there is more money to pay, and arm, land invaders, who strip the forest and transform the land into businesses like cattle ranching that can be used to launder drug money; communities conserving the forest, which is owned by the state, say they are losing their livelihood because of such incursions. MORE

Feb. 2, 2014

Drought that has swept California is threatening the state's drinking water supply; officials say they are moving to put emergency plans in place; deteriorating situation will likely mean imposing mandatory water conservation measures on homeowners and businesses, who have already been asked to voluntarily reduce their water use by 20 percent. MORE

Nov. 16, 2013

Non-profit conservation group Open Space Institute has bought land parcels surrounding park borders in New York State and sold them to state at cost or below, helping to conserve land and expand parks. MORE

Jun. 17, 2013

There is a certain curiosity about how water is used in Phoenix, which gets barely eight inches of rain a year but is not necessarily parched; half of the water consumed in Phoenix homes is used for irrigating lawns, but city's per capita consumption still falls below that of cities like Los Angeles. MORE

Mar. 12, 2013

Within five years, the city will replace 40,000 toilets at public schools with new low-flow versions that should save four million gallons of water each day. MORE

Oct. 29, 2012

Editorial warns ecological balance of Southern Ocean, which circles Antarctica, is under threat of commercial pressure; calls for creation of large marine protected areas to ensure safety of sensitive ecosystems. MORE

Feb. 15, 2012

Op-Ed article by author Jonathan Waterman observes that the Colorado River rarely reaches the sea because decades of population growth, climate change and damming have dessicated its lower reaches, turning a once-lush Mexican delta into a desert; calls on Mexican and American officials to strengthen the treaty between the two countries in effort to revive the legendary white-water river. MORE

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